Solace Within Sad Melodies
by KawaiPanda
Summary: A new set of keys for a celestial mage to discover means an adventure of epic proportions.


Chapter One

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"Yosh! Let's go on a mission!" At the voice of her partner, Lucy looked up from her milk shake, glancing in the direction it had come from. For a moment, her heart soared, thinking he'd finally come to his senses. But his statement hadn't been directed towards her. It hadn't in over two weeks now. Without hesitation, the pink haired dragon slayer pulled the youngest take-over mage towards the board. It was really painful for the celestial mage to watch as their hands lingered before finally pulling apart as they headed to look over the missions.

Lisanna giggled, "Sure, but I'm picking this time," she informed him, looking over the board. Plucking a paper from the overcrowded board, she asked, "How about this one?"

He barely took the time to scan it before he was nodded. "Let's go!"

As they made their way towards the bar, close to where Lucy was sitting, the blonde stood, dropping a couple of jewels in payment for the drink and made her way towards the library, walking past the oblivious pair who didn't seem to even notice her. Tears pricked at her eyes, but she refused to allow them - namely him - get to her.

Once she'd made it to the library, she immediately spotted the bluenett. "Levy."

Looking up, a grin spread on her face as she replied, "Hey Lu-chan."

"I finished another chapter," Lucy informed her as she waved said manuscript around.

Levy's eyes widened as she stood. "Really?"

She nodded, placing it in her outstretched hands. "Here."

"I'll read it tonight, and give it back with the suggestions tomorrow." She sat the chapter on the table next to her stack of books. "If anything comes up, I'll let you know."

"Thanks."

Just as she turned to leave, Levy caught her arm with her hand. "Are you okay?"

She'd known it was coming. After all, Levy was able to read her like an open book most of the time, and it's not like she was oblivious to what was going on between her and Natsu… or more like Lisanna and Natsu.

She nodded as the solid script mage released her arm. "I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yep. Never been better." It was a lie. Of course she wasn't okay, but she had no right to feel this way. After all, it wasn't like they were dating or something. He was just her friend and that's all he was ever going to be to her. Last week proved that.

"We can talk about it, if you want," she murmured.

"I promise, Levy, I…" Breaking off, she tried again, "I'll be fine."

After a moment, she nodded. "Okay."

"Oi, shrimp…" At the iron eater's voice, Levy blushed, eyes flickering towards the door, where the dragon slayer stood. Stifling a giggle, Lucy grinned, knowing that Levy was anxious to meet up with the dragon slayer who'd been absent from the guild the past three days, presumably with a mission of his own.

"See you tomorrow?" She asked, lifting a brow.

"Definitely." Levy nodded vigorously, before turning to the other mage, a deep scowl on her face. "I've told you to stop calling me that!"

She left the library, giving the two their privacy and headed for the mission board. She, herself, had rent coming up soon. Glancing through the options, she grimaced. Most of them she wouldn't have been able to complete on her own, fighting monsters or other such things…. But one looked promising. It wasn't the task she had to complete that drew her attention but the reward she'd be given in return for completing it.

A black celestial key.

Grabbing hold of the paper, she headed towards the eldest of the Strauss siblings. "Mira, I'd like this."

Mirajane looked over the mission, and pulled out the log book, hesitating before she wrote down her name, asking, "You sure you want to go alone, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded. "I'll be fine. And besides, I'm never alone," she replied with a smile, jingling her keys. It was true. They were her precious friends, and meant the world to the ex-heiress.

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It didn't take her long to have everything she needed for the short trip packed and ready to go. Rather than waiting until the following day, she left that afternoon on the first train headed in the direction of her mission. It took little more than an hour via train to reach the small, sleepy town of Briston.

Following the directions she'd been given, she found herself standing in front of an old building at the edge of the town, which seemed to be falling apart at the seams. The iron gate that appeared to wrap around the whole property was rusted, but it didn't deter the celestial mage, rather she strode through, headed for the door.

With a brief knock, she waited. It didn't take too long before she could hear sounds of life as someone came to the door, and answered.

A young woman, around her age opened the door, blinking at the sight of Lucy. "Hello?"

"Hi. I'm hear about your request."

"Oh!" She opened the door, waving her inside. "Come on in."

She led her into the room adjacent to the front hall, taking a seat on the beat up sofa that had seen better days. "Thank you so much for coming, I'm Ariel."

"Lucy, and it's not a problem," Lucy replied, looking around at the old and dated décor. It was like something out of the movies, knowing most of it had to be vintage. On the wall overhead of Ariel was a painting. It was of a woman, who looked similar to Ariel, but it definitely wasn't her. And around her neck… a small glimpse of black dangling from a necklace seemingly winked at her. Was it a key? Finally able to tear her eyes away from the painting, she asked, "So, what um… exactly is the problem?"

"The town keeps being attacked by a monster. We've been able to fight it off the first couple of times, but it seems like it's only getting worse," Ariel informed her, fidgeting with her hands, picking at the bottom of her shirt.

Lucy nodded. "I'll handle it."

"Thank you, so much. Just be careful. You're not the first to try." That was news to her, and it had her a little worried. "We hired another group before, but they weren't able to end the attacks."

After a moment, she nodded. "…Alright." She moved to stand, hesitating as she eyed the painting again. "Um, I was wondering…"

Looking back, she murmured, "Yes?"

"Do you think I could see the key?" When she just stared, Lucy supplied, "The one for the reward."

She nodded. "Right. Sure." After leaving the room briefly, she came back with the key in her hand and handed it to Lucy.

"Huh… It really is black…" she murmured, the cool metal resting in her hand. She looked it over, tracing the design absently, wondering which constellation this key went to. She couldn't recognize the symbol, but knew who would. Levy. Handing the key back to the woman, she murmured, "Thank you. I've never seen a black key before."

"It's fine. You're a celestial mage, I take it?"

Nodding, she replied, "I am."

"Well, I hope you'll be able to find some use out of it." She walked Lucy to the door.

Just as she was about to walk out of the door, it hit her. She didn't even know where to begin looking. Turning back to Ariel, she asked, "Where should I start looking?"

"Actually, if you just wait another hour or two, it might just appear on its own."

Lucy nodded, before asking, "Why an hour or two?"

"It only comes at night."

"Oh. Alright than."

"Please, be safe," Ariel pleaded, the tone in her voice beginning to frighten Lucy. Really, how bad could it be, this creature?

"Thank you." Without another word, the door shut and Lucy made her way back into town. She stopped by the only inn and checked into a room, knowing it might very well take her a day or two to find this creature that had been attacking Briston.

It wasn't long after she'd changed into something more suitable for fighting that it began—a loud screech of unknown origin. Grasping her keys, Lucy dashed out of her room, almost knocking over several people in their haste to get away.

It stood, heaving, only a hundred yards or so away, crouching over a squirming figure. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she headed for them without hesitation.

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